Shanvally

Antoinette Lydon

Shanvally is in the civil parish of Kilcummin. The civil Parish corresponds with the following Church of Ireland parish of Kilcummin, Galway West. In general, the civil parish and the Church of Ireland parish are the same as is the case in the Kilcummin Oughterard area.

Landlord/ Proprietor:

The St. George estate was centered on the house at Tyrone, parish of Drumacoo, barony of Dunkellin, built about 1779. This had originally been a French estate but the family assumed the title of St. George in 1774 due to inheritance from the St. George family of Hatley Manor, county Leitrim. In the 1830s A.F. St. George owned Tyrone House and Kilcolgan Castle, his agent was J. O’Hara. Wm. Griffith of Dublin also acted as an agent for the St. George estate. Arthur French St. George is described as a resident proprietor in 1824. In the early 19th century the St. Georges also owned large amounts of land in the baronies of Moycullen, Ballynahinch and Clare, which they advertised for sale in the early 1850s. Land in the barony of Clare had been acquired through Arthur French’s marriage with a Kirwan in the late 17th century. A portion of the St. George estate, situated in the barony of Longford, was offered for sale in the Encumbered Estates court in November 1853. In 1870s the family owned 15,777 acres in county Galway. By the early 1900s, however, some of the estate had been sold and the house at Tyrone had been left empty for long periods. In 1914 over 3000 acres of an estate described as St. George and Concannon was vested in the Congested Districts Board. Many members of the family are buried in a church-style mausoleum in the cemetery at Drumacoo

Down’s Survey

The Down Survey is a mapped survey. Using the Civil Survey as a guide, teams of surveyors, mainly former soldiers, were sent out under Petty’s direction to measure every townland to be forfeited to soldiers and adventurers. The resulting maps, made at a scale of 40 perches to one inch (the modern equivalent of 1: 50,000), were the first systematic mapping of a large area on such a scale attempted anywhere. The primary purpose of these maps was to record the boundaries of each townland and to calculate their areas with great precision. The maps are also rich in other detail showing churches, roads, rivers, castles, houses and fortifications. Most towns are represented pictorially and the cartouches, the decorative titles, of each map in many cases reflect a specific characteristic of each barony. (http://downsurvey.tcd.ie)

Townland of SHANVALLY (Moycullen By)

No townland information available.

The down survey website will tell you who owned this townland in 1641 (pre Cromwell) and in 1671 (post Cromwell).

The Tithe Applotment Books

About the Records

Tithes were a tax on agricultural produce which was payable by the occupiers of agricultural land. They were the main source of income for the parish clergy of the Church of Ireland (the largest Protestant church and the church established by law). However, in many parishes a large part of the tithes was ‘appropriate’, which meant that they were payable to a bishop, cathedral chapter or another ecclesiastical recipient, or were ‘impropriate’, which generally meant that they were payable to a local landowner. The parishes used in the Tithe Applotment Books are civil or Church of Ireland parishes, which often differ in name and territory from Catholic parishes, Acts of Parliament of 1823 and 1832 provided for the conversion of tithes into a fixed charge on land, and specified the average price of wheat or oats in the parish in the seven years before 1821 as the basis on which the tithes would be calculated. They also extended the application of tithes to pasture, where previously they had been levied only on tillage.

This change in the law resulted in the valuation of individual holdings in almost all parishes containing agricultural land, in order to assess the portion of the tithes for which each occupier of land would be liable. The apportionment was recorded for each Church of Ireland parish in a Tithe Composition Applotment Book. The information was collected and the amounts were calculated by two Parochial Commissioners, one of whom was appointed by the cess-payers of the parish and the other by the relevant Diocese of the Church of Ireland. This procedure was carried out in over 2,500 parishes between the years 1823 and 1837.

The Tithe Applotment Books are in a variety of formats, from a few pages sewn together to elaborately bound volumes. In most cases they are written in manuscript throughout, although some consist of manuscript entries on printed questionnaires. The information in the books is broadly uniform and generally includes at least the name of occupier; the size of holding, the valuation and the tithe payable. In some cases, more detailed information is provided. Some volumes have maps and most have certificates and correspondence attached.

The sub-divisions of the parish were recorded. Some of these subdivisions, such as plough lands, ceased to be in official use after the six-inch survey of the Ordnance Survey was completed in the 1840s. Only productive land was subject to tithe, and the books usually distinguish between this tithable land and untithable land such as roads or mountains. Tithable land was in some cases classified by quality, and a money value was given to each class. In some cases, the proportion of tithe payable to the rector, vicar or lay proprietor of the tithes was set out. The column for observations was sometimes completed, with information about commonage, for example.

There are a number of other points that should be noted. The acreages given in the Tithe Applotment Books are in Irish or Plantation measure, which is 1.62 times larger than statute measure. Only occupiers of land at the time of the tithe composition are recorded, so not all heads of households living in a parish at the time are included. Only rural areas are systematically covered, although inhabitants of towns who held plots of cultivable land are included. The equivalent tax in urban areas, Minister’s Money, has left few records.

The Tithe Applotment Books are an important source of information for a wide variety of researchers of pre-Famine Ireland. They provide the first surviving national list of the occupiers of land, and are used by genealogists as a partial substitute for returns of the 1821 and 1831 censuses of population, which were destroyed in 1922. They also record information on the quality of land, and provide information on pre-Ordnance Survey territorial divisions, some of which were not recognized after the 1840s.

Griffiths Valuation

In Griffith’s valuation the total area was 1006 acres, 2 rood & 8 perch of land & water with a total rateable value of £16 10s 0d. 971 acres 3 rood 0 perch of Land & Buildings & 34 acres with a value of £15 2s 0d, 3 rood & 8 perch of Water with a value of £1 8s 0d.

The out office was a farm building, a cow house, piggery or barn. The land was very poor and sterile and people were always poverty-stricken. At this time most tenants were trying to eke out a living on 5 acres or less and a farmer needed at least 15.3 acres to survive.

Poor Law Union Ireland

In Ireland the Poor Relief Act of 1838 divided into districts or “unions” in which the local taxable inhabitants were to be financially responsible for all paupers in the area. In 1898 the Poor Law Union was adopted as the basic administrative division in place of the civil parish and barony. Further subdivision into 828 registration districts and 3,751 district electoral divisions followed. Townlands were not arranged according to these divisions with parish and barony retained as a means to make comparisons with records gathered before 1898.

The 1838 Act

The main provisions of the 1838 Act were:

The extension of the existing Poor Law Commissioners’ powers to Ireland, with the appointment of Assistant Commissioners who were to implement the Act in Ireland.

The division of the country into Poor Law Unions based on Irish electoral divisions which where they made up from townlands.

The creation of a Board of Guardians for each Union, two-thirds of whom were to be elected, the other third to be appointed ex officio.

The setting up of a workhouse in each Union.

The collection of a local poor-rate to finance the system.

Assistance for emigration.

Initially, 130 Unions were created, based upon 2,049 electoral divisions. The divisions were composed of townlands, a peculiarly Irish unit, traditionally of 120 Irish acres in area. (Between 1848 and 1850, an additional 33 Unions were created by subdividing and reorganizing the boundaries of some existing Unions, particularly in the west of the country.

Boards of Guardians were elected annually on 25th March. Only rate-payers were eligible for election, which effectively disenfranchised most of the native Irish who were usually tenants at this time. Rate-payers were allowed between one and six votes depending on the size of a valuation of their property.

What is a townland?

A townland is one of the smallest land divisions in Ireland. They range in size from a few acres to thousands of acres. Many are Gaelic in origin, but some came into existence after the Norman invasion of 1169. Shanvally is a townland.

Population & Census Information

People who lived here:

You can retrieve a list of people who lived in this townland from 1827 to 1911. This list is compiled from the following resources.

1901 Census Shanvally

This is a return of the members of the family, their Visitors, Boarders, and Servants who slept or abode in their house on the night of Sunday March 31st 1901 in Shanvally.

There were 13 houses (10 inhabited) listed in the Townland of Shanvally. Of the people living in Shanvally all 48 were Roman Catholic.

People that lived in Shanvally were born in Co. Galway.

There were a total of 24 farm buildings and out offices which included cow houses, piggeries, a potato house & fowl house.

Class of House: The class of house depended on the materials used in the roof, walls, number of rooms and number of front windows. A 1st class house was considered the highest standard.

Walls of the houses: The walls were of stone, brick, and concrete or of mud, wood or other perishable material. The houses in Shanvally were built of stone, brick or concrete. There were no mud cabins.

Rodger was a farmer; Penelope was a housekeeper; their sons were listed as farmer’s sons. Rodger could not read and spoke Irish & English. Penelope, John, Pat & Thomas could not read and spoke only Irish. Hugh & Colman could read & write and spoke Irish & English.

They lived in a 3rd class house with 2 rooms and 1 front window. They had 2 cow houses, piggery fowl house & a potato house. This was a private dwelling.

Patrick Ridge aged 60 was head of the family; married. He lived with his children Pat aged 30, Michael aged 20, John aged 18 & Anne aged 16.

Patrick was a farmer; Pat, Michael & John were farmer’s sons & Anne was a farmer’s daughter. Patrick, Pat, Michael & John could not read and spoke only Irish. Anne could read & write and spoke Irish & English.

They lived in a 2nd class house with 2 rooms and 3 front windows. They had 2 cow houses & a piggery. This was a private dwelling.

Pat Ridge aged 72 was head of the family; married to Bridget aged 70. They lived with their son John aged 26 & relative Pat O’Donnell aged 14.

Pat Ridge was a farmer; Pat O’Donnell was a scholar. Pat & Bridget could not read; they spoke only Irish. John could not read; he spoke Irish & English. Pat O’Donnell could read & write; he spoke Irish & English.

Pat & Bridget were married for 48 years; they had 8 children.

They lived in a 2nd class house with 2 rooms and 3 front windows. They had 2 cow houses & a piggery. This was a private dwelling.

Pat was a farmer; John & Denis were farmer’s sons; Bridget was a farmer’s daughter; Kate & Michael were scholars. Pat, Mary & Denis, could not read; they spoke only Irish. John could read; he spoke only Irish. Bridget, Mary, Kate & Michael could read & write; they spoke Irish & English.

Pat & Mary were married for 27 years; they had 7 children.

The lived in a 3rd class house with 2 rooms and 1 front window. They had 2 cow houses. This was a private dwelling.

Hugh Walsh aged 70 was head of the family; married to Bridget aged 60. They lived with their children John aged 21, Michael aged 16, Anne aged 14, Honor aged 12 & Tom aged 10.

Hugh was a farmer; John & Michael were farmer’s son’s; Anne was a farmer’s daughter; Tom was a scholar. Hugh could read and spoke Irish & English. Bridget could not read and spoke only Irish. John, Michael, Anne, Honor & Tom could read & write; they spoke Irish & English.

Hugh & Bridget were married for 27 years; they had 7 children.

They lived in a 3rd class house with 2 rooms and 1 front window. They had a cow house. This was a private dwelling.

Church records of births, deaths and marriages:

Church records of births, deaths and marriages are available online at http://www.rootsireland.ie. To search these records you will need to know the ‘church parish’ rather than the ‘civil parish’. (The civil parish is the pre-reformation parish and was frequently used as a unit of administration in the past.)

Shanvally is in the civil parish of Kilcummin.

Roman Catholic parishes:

This civil parish corresponds with the following Roman Catholic parish or parishes.

Carraroe

Kilannin

Kilcummin/Oughterard

Rosmuc

Church of Ireland parishes:

This civil parish corresponds with the following Church of Ireland parish.

Kilcummin

In general, the civil parish and the Church of Ireland parish are the same, but, this is not always the case.

Maps

It is located at 53° 22′ 28″ N, 9° 29′ 20″ W.

Original OS map of this area.

Ireland was first mapped in the 1840s. These original maps are available online.

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